Aircraft parachute



Oct. 6, 1931. F. LosKE AIRCRAFT PARACHUTE Filed May 5, 1931- 3Sheets-Sheet l A 4 BY His ATTORNEY JW e %0Wfmg F. LosKE 1,826,556

AIRCRAFT PARACHUTE Oct. 6,1931. l

3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 5,v 1931 l 'ai INVENToR 1021]( asie Oct. 6,1931.

F. LOSKE v AIRCRAFT PARACHUTE 3 Sheets-Shea?I 5 Filed May 5, 1951INvr-:NTR 71" ani( [asje RNEY BY HIS A Patented Oct. 6, 1931 OFFICE rmxLosxa, or Bnoormm, NEW Yonx mmm ranacnnmn v Application mea my s, 1931.semi no. 535,135.

This invention relatesto improvements in aircraft, and it is theprincipal object of'my invention to provide a craft with parachute meanstending to righten the craft and keep (j the same floating in the air sothat-it may be brought safely to the ground if the engine stalls or forany other reason an emergency landing is to be made. l

Another object of my invention is the provision of a parachute airplanewith the wing of which a gas container is so connected that in case ofemergency i't will instantaneously be displaced so as to project beyondthe front part of the wing or wings of the air- 15 plane to balance andrightenthe airplane,

if it is for instance going into a nose-dive.

It isv well known that the front part of an airplane is comparativelyheavier than the rear part of same owing to the presence of the motor,other machinery operated thereby and the pilot, etc., and that a nosedive is mostly to be feared. It is the object of my invention toovercome this disadvantage and danger by simple and readily acting 25means positivelyk preventing disaster and tending to let the airshipfloat safely to a landing on land or water.

Still another object of my invention is ythe provision of an aircraftthe wing of which 3e is eitherA carrying a. gas container or is formeditself as such, whereby novel and improved means are provided to shootthe gas container to the front in case ofnecessity 'to balance andrighten the plane' in emergency cases and to produce a safe landing. Afurther object of my invention is the provision of suitable lockingmeans including a sliding sleeve for safely locking the spring propelled`gas container or wing in their norma position during the ordinaryHight.

A still further object of my invention isv the provision of means forallowing convenient resetting of the gas container and parts cooperatingtherewith after each oper-I ation.

If the upper wing is forming the gas con- `Atainer additional means areprovided to lock;

`,the same safel to the lower wing which can,

M however, readlly be unlocked 'by the pilot in v springs 14.

order to'let the springs come to action and Y material part of thisdisclosure:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary plan view of a parachute airplane constructedaccording to my invention.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary sectional side elevation thereof, with theparachute gas bag extended;l

Fig. 3 is the perspective view of a locking member and co-operatingparts.

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section through the airplane onV line 1-4 of Fiure 1. ,f

Fig. 5 is a view similar to F section being taken on line 5--5 of Figure1.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary front elevation of the plane.

Fig. 7 is a side elevation of the plane.

Fig. Sis a fragmentary front elevation of a bi-plane constructedaccording to my invention.

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary sectional elevation of another form of myinvention. As illustrated in Figures 1 to 7 the fuselage 10 of anairplane equipped with a wing 11 includes hollow guide bars or beams l2in which slide the rods 13 under the action of To the front ends of barsor rods 13 is connected by means of brackets l5 or the like a gascontainer .16 of any suitable material and containingany suitable gaslighter than air.

To the lower face of the gas container 16 is secured, at its front end,as at 17 a longitudinal and rearwardly extending rod 18, slidably guidedin suitable guide loo s 19 on the upper faces of cross-bars 20 to t elower faces'of which rollers 21 are secured by means `of suitablehangers or brackets 22. A chain igurev 4, the

23 is attached at its front end, as at 24, to the front end of the rod18 and is guided towards the rear over rollers 21 and then back towardsAthe front over a roller 25 at the upper front The shaft 30 for th footpedals carries :also a ratchet wheel 31 adapted to be engaged and lockedin its position by means of` a pawl 32 pivotally secured intermediateits ends to a nose on bracket 27 and adapted to be locked in'its lockingposition by means of a loop or eye 33.

After passing sprocket'wheel 26 the cham f 23 is guided over a roller 34at the lower rear A edge of wing 11 towards the rear'and its end isattached to an eye 35 of a bow 36 (Flgure.

3%, the endsof which are attached to pins 3 laterally extending from abracket arm 38 depending from the rear end of the gas coni tainer 16.

The rod 18 is slidably guided through arm 38 land is adapted to enterwith its rear endan opening 39 in the rear cross bar 40 of the. fuselagehavinga recess 41 in its lower V edge through which in the lockingposition of the parts passes the hooked end 42 of one arm Y of abell-crank lever to engage behind crossbar 40.

The hooked arm of the bell crank lever'is fulcrumed on pin 37 in arecess 43 of arm 38 and its other inclined and downwardly directed armhas pivoted thereto a wire loop 44 intermediate its ends the outer endsof which are attached to a pin 45 projecting from both sides of a sleeve46 displaceably mounted on 'rod 18 and having other pins 47 pro'ectinglaterally therefrbm to which the en s of a cord 48 are secured leadingto the seat of the operator.

Y"0 f In operatlon during normal Hight the hook 42 is engaged throughrecess 41 with the rear face of cross-bar of the fuselage, and sleeve 46is displaced towards the 'rear to engage arm 38 so that loop 44 willhold the arm of the bell crank lever to which it is attached in itsdownwardly directed position, and as springsv 14 have the tendency topush gas contamer 16 and its 'rod 18 towards the front the hook will tbe securely kept in engagement with bar 40.

If, however, `the gas container-is to be used to outbalancethe'heavyfront part of the air'- plane a pull exerted onnable 48displaces the sleeve 46 on rod 18 towards the front, this movement ofthe sleeve will release the engagement of hook 42 with bar 40 and thesprings 14 will be free vto drive the gas container to the front. y ,cAs it is common knowledge that the front part of an airplane owing tothe resence of 00 the engine, operator, etc., is heavier than its rear,the gas container when firmly propelled by its springs will tend torighten the forward part about to go into a nose-dive and to balancethe-machine.

a5 The return of the gas container into its f normal position iseffected by means of chain 23 and t e pedals 28 which are then locked bymeans of pawl 32 and loop 33.

In the form of my invention illustrated in Figures 8 and 9, I have shownmy invention applied to a two winged machine. The upper wing -49 formsthe gas container and is held to the lowerwing 50 by means of the hooks51, 52, pivoted intermediate their ends as at 53 to brackets 54, 55. Theupper ends of the hooks engage eyes 56 on'wing'49, and to the lowel` endof the hooks the ends of springs 57, 58, are attached the other ends ofwhich are attached to pins laterall extending from'posts 59, 60, on thefaceso brackets 54, 55.

As shown in Figure 7 the airplane is driven by 'a conventional type ofengine 61 driving propeller 62, has front llanding and startinggear'generally indicated 63, Vertical rudder 64, horizontal rudder andrear landing runner 66.

It will be understood that I have described and shown the preferredforms of my invention as a few examplesonly of the many possible ways topractically construct the same, and that I may make such changes in thegeneral arrangement of my device and the construction of its minordetails as come withlin the scope ofthe appended claims withoutdeparture from the spirit of. my linvention and the principles involved.

Having thus described my mvention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

1. An aeroplane-parachute comprising a gas container, meansfor normallyholding said container inoperative, means to catapult -the containerforward in cases of emergency,

and means for-resetting the container after each operation. y 2. Anaeroplane-parachute comprising a gas container on the wing of saidaeroplane, hollow beams on the fuselage of the aeroplane,-

bars slidably arranged in said beams, means connecting said bars to thegas container, springs in said beams to catapult said beams and the'gascontainer forward, means for normallyl holding said gas containerinoperative, means for locking the container in its inoperativeposition, and means for resetting the container after each operation.

3. In an aeroplane-parachute a gas container above the wing of theaeroplane, a means for slidably' supporting said gas container, a meansfor catapulting said gas container forward including a rod, a lockingsleeve slidably supportedon said rod, a bracket arm depending from saidcontainer having a recess, a bellcrank lever fulcrumed in the recess ofsaid arm having one of its arms formed'into a hook, a means connectingthe other-arm of said bell-crank lever to said sleeve, and a cross-beamon the fuselage `of the aeroplane having a lower recess allowing thepassage of 4. In an aeroplane-parachute, a gas conv tainer, means tocatapult said contalner for- 1 end of. the gas contalner, asprocket-wheel wardly, and means for returning said gas container intoits normal position after each catapulting operation, said meanscomprising a chain attached at one end to the forward over which saidchain is guided, a shaft for said sprocket-wheel, a crank on said shaftto rotate the wheel for winding said chain, an arm depending from thefuselage to which said chain is attached, and means-for locking thesprocket wheel against rotation.

5. In an aeroplane having two superposed wings, one o f said wingsconstituting a gas container, means for catapulting said gas containingwing forward, and means for locking said gas containin wing in itsnormal position of rest above t e other wing, spring controlled hooksconnecting both wings, and means for operating'said hooks to disconnectthe gas containing wing from the other wing to allow its forwardcatapulting.

v 6. ln a bi-plane, an 'upper wing adapted to 'receive a gas lighterthan air, a support for said wing allowing its forward movement,

means to normally hold this wing in superposition .and alignment to thelower wing, means to release vsaid support, means catapulting the gascontaining wing forward to project beyond the lower wing to balance theaircraft, spring controlled hooks connectin both wings, and cables forreleasing said -hooks to allow the catapulting of said upper wing.

7. In a catapulting device for parachute gas contamers on aircraft, agul e rod, a

` sleeve movable on said rod, a hook engaging a cross-beam at the rearofthe craft, and fulcrumed-intermediate its ends, a means connectingsaid hook with said sleeve allowing a locking of said hook in its beamengaging position and a cable for slidin said sleeve on said rod todisconnect said ook from the cross-beam, and vsprin s for propelling thegas container forwar Signed'at New York, in the county of New York, andState of l of April, A. D. 1931.

FRANK LOSKE.

upon the release of New York,.this 29th day

